Thursday, January 22, 2009

Fans of Guantanamo not clear on the message

CBC : Kory Teneycke, Wednesday :"Our position is that the determination of his guilt or innocence on those charges needs to take place in a court of some fashion, and that we will wait for the outcome of a judicial process before looking at what the other options are."

His comments came after Defence Minister Peter MacKay suggested the government was reconsidering its position after U.S. President Barack Obama stated "very clearly" to military commission judges that the proceedings were to be suspended.

"Clearly, Canada and Mr. Khadr’s counsel and everyone involved in these cases will be reassessing their positions," MacKay told reporters in Ottawa.

Teneycke said MacKay was likely trying to say that the government was "watching very closely what is happening in the U.S., and [that] we'll react to changes when they occur."

He also refused to speculate on whether Khadr could face a judicial process in Canada, saying it was "exactly the hypothetical question that we're really not going to engage in at this time."

"The fact that the situation may change at some point in the future doesn't mean that it's changed today," Teneycke said.

The 15 year old Khadr was accused of:

Murder in violation of the law of war.

Attempted murder in violation of the law of war.

Conspiracy.

Providing material support for terrorism.

Spying.

A U.S. soldier reported that he accidentally stepped on Omar Khadr following a firefight in Afghanistan because Khadr was covered in rubble, casting doubt on whether the 15-year-old Canadian could have thrown the grenade that fatally wounded Delta Force soldier Christopher Speer.